can't-stop-eating moroccan roasted chickpeas

I love experimenting with spices, don't you? Can I just say while these chickpeas were roasting, the smell in the house was wonderful. It brought me back to those many days of summer I would spend living with my friend, who lived on st. marks street (8th street) of nyc. During my many walks up and down st. marks street, in the hot thick air of summer I would always smell curry, coming from any random walkout or open basement door. I love all the random food smells on any given sidewalk in the city. It was wonderful and comforting at the same time, even though the temperature in the summertime in the middle of the city would be close to 90 degrees. That smell of curry would just make me forget how hot and humid it really was. Even as a kid I've always loved the smell of curry, and I love the taste of it too. I never had a problem eating hot curry in the hot days of summer--oh that taste was so worth the burn. The original recipe of these Moroccan chickpeas does not call for curry, but when I taste-tested the spice mix it was begging for a pinch of curry to be put in. And it made a world of difference. For those of you that like spices you might like these. I love plain roasted chickpeas too, have made them with a bit of salt & pepper and some olive oil and a pinch of sugar, but never made them this way. Make sure to see my changes in parenthesis; you may or may not want to do what I did, since I don't know what level of "spice-love" you have.

moroccan roasted chickpeas
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1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 TB olive oil
½ ts Moroccan Spice Mix (I used one and a half teaspoons (ts) of this)
salt to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp sea salt)

Moroccan Spice Mix:
2 ts ground cumin
1 ts ground coriander
1/2 ts chile powder (did not use this, didn’t have any)
1/2 ts sweet paprika
1/2 ts ground cinnamon
1/4 ts ground allspice
1/4 ts ground ginger powder
1/8 ts cayenne pepper (I used ½ ts)
a pinch ground cloves
1/2 ts sugar (I used 1 ts)
1 ts curry powder (this is my own addition)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Drain the chickpeas into a colander and rinse well with cold water until no more foam appears. Let beans drain for 5-10 minutes, then pat dry with a cloth or paper towel if they still look wet.
While the chickpeas drain, make the spice mix. (store leftover spice mix in an airtight container for other uses.)
When the chickpeas are well-drained and dry, toss them together with the olive oil, spice mix, and salt. Arrange in single layer on baking sheet.
Roast 40-50 minutes, (my chickpeas were done in 40 minutes) or until they are slightly browned and make a rattling sound when you shake the baking sheet. Serve warm or cool.

pumpkin-coconut bread

This wonderful concotion was thought up by the sheer fact that I had many food items in the pantry to use up. So, everyone in the pool!
I had been craving toasted coconut for a while now. I was too lazy to make toasted coconut marshmallows by Ina; those are a big weakness of mine. But I was also craving pumpkin-something. The toasted coconut on this bread was soooo good. The good thing with homemade breads is you can add whatever you want to it. And now after having this bread, adding in some milk chocolate chips would be wonderful!





pumpkin-coconut bread
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1 (15 oz can) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie puree, just plain pumpkin puree)
½ cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 ts vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups of white sugar
1 ½ cups flour
½ ts salt
½ ts baking soda
½ ts baking powder
½ ts ground cinnamon
½ ts ground nutmeg
½ ts pumpkin pie spice mix
½ cup pecans
½ cup shredded coconut
½ raisins

Topping:
½ to ¼ cup of pecans
½ to ¼ cup of shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Or two smaller loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar.
In another bowl combine the topping mix and combine.
In another bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice mix. Mix well, then slowly add to the wet ingredients until well combined. Don’t over mix!
Then fold in the pecans, raisins, and coconut into the batter. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then add on your toppings, gently push down the topping into the loaf (if you don’t push them into the loaf they may burn). Then bake another 20 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into bread comes out clean. Cook times may vary depending on your oven.

honey sesame shrimp

A fabulous taste sensation of flavors in this shrimp dish. Just like I love my sweets with a hint of salty, I love my spicy foods with a hint of sweet. The key to this dish is the marinade, but then again isn't that always the case? The longer something sits and marinades in a good sauce, the better it tastes. So, if you can, let this marinade overnight. I also added in more of the Thai chile sauce, you don't have to, but the flavor is a deep spice, not an instant HOT, but a slow warming heat as you eat it; that's why I love spicy Thai chile sauces.
Sorry I don't have better pictures this time around as this was a dinner meal and it's so dark here by the time we get around to eating. But I had to share this recipe with everyone as the sauce was soooooo good. And when something is good you just have to share it with friends.
I don't know about you, but I am a huge lover of ginger root. I am amazed at it's healing powers and more importantly it's taste. Whenever I eat sushi I always ask for more ginger. I'm the person in Whole Foods buying the jars of pickled ginger and bargaining with the sushi chefs to pile on some more ginger onto my sushi lunch rolls. In this dish, I added big chunks of thinly sliced ginger...you can see it in the first pic, on the left side. When those chunks of ginger marinaded in that sauce and then were cooked through, oh the taste! I ate all the chunks in this dish as the hubby won't touch it.

Honey Sesame Shrimp
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1 ½ pounds jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined
4 slices fresh ginger 1/4-inch thick (I did 6 slices)
5 trimmed scallions
6 TB dark sesame oil (also called Asian sesame oil)
4 TB rice wine sake (or dry sherry)
6 TB soy sauce
5 TB honey
3 TB sesame seeds
1 TB Thai sweet chile sauce or paste (I did 2 TB)
1 ts Chinese five-spice powder
4 cloves garlic crushed

Flatten white parts of scallions with the side of a cleaver. Finely chop green parts and set aside for garnish. Rinse the shrimp under cold running water, then drain and blot dry with paper towels. Set aside while you prepare the marinade.

Combine 3 tablespoons of the sesame oil, the rice wine, soy sauce, honey, sesame seeds, chile sauce (if using), and five-spice powder in a large bowl and whisk to blend.
Stir in the garlic, ginger, scallions, and shrimp to coat, then cover and let marinate, in the refrigerator, for 30 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the grill to high. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the marinade to a bowl and toss with the remaining 3 tablespoons sesame oil.
Pour the marinade into a saucepan; remove and discard the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites, using the slotted spoon. Bring the marinade to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, to a thick, syrupy glaze, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
When ready to cook, oil the grate.
Arrange the shrimp on the hot grate and grill, turning with tongs, until nicely browned on the outside and firm and pink inside, about 2 minutes per side. Brush the shrimp with the glaze as they cook.
Transfer the shrimp to serving plates and or a platter and sprinkle with the scallion greens. Serve immediately with sticky rice

Serves 3 - 4
(I've also stir fried this dish and it came out just as good. Right now the grill is buried in snow...somewhere)

sugar donut muffins

I loved photographing these. So simple, so basic, the sunlight was finally out on Saturday and was just the perfect light. Plus the sugar was so pretty on the tops of the muffins. It felt good to have some sun today--we haven't had much of it lately. This Saturday night we are expecting yet another snowstorm. It's the second week of January and we've already had seven snowstorms so far this winter! We met our quota for snow, we're done, ok? No more. I hope winter doesn't keep this snow-storm pace, by March I'll be screaming for warm tropical weather. Summer: it felt like just yesterday I was sitting outside on the back deck at night listening to the resounding crickets and frogs croak away as if they were having their own who-can-croak-the-loudest contest. The warm air of summer nighttime surrounding me and my cold, sweaty glass of wine....

How were the muffins you ask? Well, you're asking the wrong person as I thought they were ok; a little plain tasting. Don't get me wrong, they came out just fine. You all know I like things kicked up a notch. So, if I were to make these again (and I will) I want to put a vanilla custard in the middle for a little extra something. Or even a jelly center would be perfect. The muffin has a wonderful mild, tasting vanilla base, but I just wanted to add something to it. My husband LOVED them, but see he loves plain old anything, so...if you're like him then you'll just love these. I have to admit these are the perfect base muffins for experimenting add on or add in's.

sugar donut muffins
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1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking power
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ cup plus 1 TB vegetable oil
¾ cup plus 2 TB buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

For topping:
4 TB butter, melted
½ cup sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color. Add in all the vegetable oil, all the buttermilk, vanilla extract and mix well.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; add this to the wet mixture.
Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
While muffins are baking, melt butter in one bowl and in another bowl pour in the ½ cup sugar. When muffins are done, take muffin one by one and dip top of muffin into melted butter then dip into sugar. If, you’re feeling even more creative you can dip all sides of the muffin. I also used cinnamon on half of the muffins. After I was done doing 6 muffins with the plain sugar I added some cinnamon to the remaining sugar and dipped accordingly. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

root beer bundt cake

The root beer flavor in this cake is intense. I wasn't sure about making this because most times you hear about a soda flavored-cake and, for me, it tends not to be that flavored; you can't even taste what the original flavor was supposed to be. I hate that. And I hate wasting all those ingredients for nothing.
But this cake is very tasty--lots of root beer flavor in there, Recipe comes from a cookbook I'm dying to get which hails from a famous bakery in Brooklyn called Baked. I know a lot of you foodies have heard of this bakery and the more popular cookbook. I cannot wait to get my hands on this cookbook. This root beer bundt cake recipe uses root beer snapps. Bingo! That brings out flavor indeed. So, if you are a root beer lover as I am then try this, it's not a boring bundt cake at all. Everyone in our house loved this, it did not last long at all. That frosting, oh that frosting! Update! I have gotten the book and it's worth it! Very worth it. Modern baking at it's best.

root beer bundt cake
From Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
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Cake:
1 1/2 cups root beer (do not use diet root beer)
1/2 cup root beer schnapps (if you cannot find schnapps then use 2 cups of root beer, not the 1 and 1/2 cups as stated above)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1¼ cups granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

Frosting:
2 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup root beer OR 1/8 cup of root schnapps
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2½ cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; alternatively, butter it, dust with flour, and knock out excess flour.
In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, root beer schnapps (if using), cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into a cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy - do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

For the root beer fudge frosting:
Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth. Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the crown of the bundt in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving.

Cheez It Bark

I'm sure you've all seen the "ghetto toffee" recipe floating around food-bloggerland for the holiday season. But my question to you is, have you seen it this way?

Yep, I totally went there--I used the ever-so-tasty Cheez-It crackers. Trust me on this one. It is WAY better than saltines. The sweet buttery toffee mixed with the salty taste of Cheez-It's. Oh yeah! Now we're talking tasty toffee.

cheez it bark
from vanillasugarblog.com
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1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup, packed light brown sugar
2 bags of 11.05 ounces of milk chocolate chips
½ box of the Big-size Cheez-It’s (use the big ones, as they cover more room)
1 cup of crushed toasted pecans (or walnuts or whatever you crave)

Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Line jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Or just use a non-stick jelly roll pan.
Lay a flat layer of Cheez-It crackers out on the foil. I did a layer and a half, making sure to cover up any gaps with Cheez-It’s.
In a saucepan, melt the sugar and butter until a boil is reached. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly. Do not mix! Just pour, and fill in any gaps with a spatula.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 5-8 minutes, or until the toffee becomes bubbly. Turn off oven, then take out of oven and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then sprinkle on the chocolate chips. But tray back in oven to help the chips melt a bit. When chips are melted a bit, spread them into an even layer like you would frosting a cake. After done spreading the chocolate this is the time to sprinkle on the chopped nuts or whatever else you want to add.
Let cool and/or refrigerate until hardened. Once firmly cooled then break into pieces.
So good. Trust me the Cheez-It’s make all the difference!

ham and cheese sliders

Oh. my. goodness. Are you sitting down?
I have something really tasty and flavorful to share with you: sliders, made with ham & cheese. I've never heard of these before, not in the ham & cheese version just burger version.
But boy these were so tasty, and that onion topping?
 I could eat just that on the bun.
 So good, and be generous when making the topping--don't skimp!


So much fun to make, extremely tasty too. Perfect for a football party.
You can make massive quantities with minimal effort.
I used those mini dinner potato rolls from Martins. Almost every grocery store has them.
That topping is killer!

ham & cheese sliders
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2 TB dried minced onions
1 TB Dijon mustard (I used 2 TB)
2 TB poppy seeds
I used a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 stick melted butter
1 dozen mini dinner rolls (I used 2 doz. Martin's Famous Dinner Potato Rolls)
1/2 pound ham (I used sweet capicola)
1/2 pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese (I used baby swiss)

Preheat oven to 325°. In a small mixing bowl mix onion, mustard, poppy seeds, Worcestershire sauce, and melted butter. Leaving the dinner rolls intact, slice them open so that you have one solid top and bottom. Don’t slice each one open, but rather as a whole. Place the bottom half on a baking sheet or in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Line the bottom half of the rolls with cheese slices and ham. Return the top part of the rolls and drizzle the butter mixture evenly over top. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Now use a sharp knife to separate the sandwiches.

cook notes:
I baked for 15 minutes with foil then about 7 with foil off as I wanted the tops to get a bit of crunch. These can be made ahead of time and refrigerated, may require 5 more minutes of baking. Also can be prepared ahead and frozen. Defrost in refrigerator overnight and bake as directed. Oh these were so fun to make and eat. You will be the hit of the party if you make these. Next time I make these I'm going to try it with cheeseburgers. Don't you think little BLT's would be good too? Or little buffalo chicken sliders?

spicy pecan pie with cheddar cheese crust

I'm always raving about the great finds at Trader Joe's, and my deep love for their Sweet & Spicy pecans. The best part of these pecans is finding new ways to use them in recipes. Because in all honesty, I can literally sit down and eat 2 bags of the pecans. That's not good for me because they are kind of fattening. The heat/spice does not bother me; I can eat fairly hot food items without getting too over-heated. Some people say that over time you lose the sensitivity in your tongue because of eating to much spicy foods. That can't be true? Can it? I do know people that can eat way hotter foods than I can and never ever be bothered by it. Why is that? I've always wondered if it's a myth about your tongue over time becoming desensitized from the over-consumption of spicy foods. What do you think?

So, I've found another recipe for my favorite sweet & spicy pecans: spicy pecan pie. It was good, we had a lot leftover as hubby won't go near that spicy stuff, ever!

Spicy Maple-Pecan Pie with Cheddar Cheese Crust
(I adapted some of this from Closet Cooking)

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1 1/2 cups sweet & spicy pecans (found at Trader Joe’s)
1 cup light brown sugar, not packed
2/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoon bourbon (optional, but makes all the difference)
¾ stick of unsalted butter
3 large eggs, lightly beaten (I used 2 whole eggs, plus 1 egg yolk)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
(I used a pinch of cayenne-optional)
2 pie crusts (chilling in the fridge until used)
¼ - ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (optional, just use plain crust if you want)

Take 2 pre-made pie crusts of your own homemade pie crusts shaped into 2 circles for a regular sized pie plate.
Take one of the pie crusts and place on floured surface, place the shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top of the pie crust and gently push the shredded cheddar into the pie crust. You can use a rolling pin to push it in there. It's ok if some of the cheddar sticks out.
Take the other pie crust and put on top of bottom pie crust. Seal the crusts together and place into pie pan and form into a regular pie crust, crimping edges as you would any other pie crust. Once formed place ready pie crust into fridge to stay chilled.
Heat the sugar, syrup, bourbon and butter in a large saucepan until it boils, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and let cool.
In a separate bowl beat in the eggs, cream, vanilla and salt (and cayenne if using). When sugar mixture is cooled add in the egg mixture, combine well.
Spread the spicy pecans over the bottom of the pie crust.
Pour the liquid mixture into the pie crust.
Bake in a preheated 350F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes

cheesy reuben calzones

Who doesn't love a good Reuben sandwich? I know I love it when they are made right. You know what I'm talking about, one that is on perfect thick rye bread, piled high with corned beef, a good amount of tangy sauerkraut, and dripping with warm melted cheese. And with all that said, I like to have a giant side of thousand island dressing to dip each and every bite into. YUM. The last time I had a Reuben that good was in NYC last October at Juniors Restaurant.

We sat right outside, right in the heart of Times Square. And let me tell you, their sandwiches were HUGE. They did not disappoint at all. It was one of those mile-high sandwiches that you see on those TV Travel shows that leave you drooling, keeping a mental note to visit that place for sure. Obviously their sandwiches were way to big to finish, even my husband (who can eat) did not finish. But being as full as we were we knew we had to have Juniors famous cheesecake for dessert. After all that is what they are famous for is the cheesecake with fresh strawberry sauce. Just writing all this is making me so hungry. I have no clue what they do to their cheesecake, it's a decades old recipe: so creamy, light and tangy . And the strawberry sauce on top just complimented the tanginess of the cheesecake so perfectly. The pics on their website doesn't do this cake and sandwich justice. If you know about Juniors (I know Adam knows about them, he better!) then you know exactly what I talking about in terms of quality and exceptional taste. With all this said, I had a craving for a Reuben, but didn't have any rye bread, just pizza dough and melded the two together. That crust, dipped in a bit of Thousand Island dressing was delish.

cheesy reuben calzones
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1/2 pound sliced corned beef
1/4 pound Swiss or provolone cheese
½ cup sauerkraut, drained very well
Thousand Island dressing
Pizza dough
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line baking sheets with Silpat or greased parchment paper.
Cut dough into 2 even pieces, 4 if you want smaller calzones. Roll out into a circle to about 1/4 inch thickness.
Spread some thousand island dressing in the center of the dough, use as little or as much as desired. Place a piece of cheese on top of the mixture and top with 3 to 4 slices of corned beef, then a bit of sauerkraut, make sure to squeeze out excess liquid in sauerkraut before using.
Finish off the pile with another slice of cheese.
Fold dough over the filling and pinch the edges shut, making sure nothing can leak out.
Repeat instructions for remaining dough.
Gently spread a bit of olive oil on tops of calzones (plus the crust) before baking, and if desired sprinkle with salt & pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika (I did all these). I always think its better to season the crust and tops.
Place on baking sheet and slice 2 to 3 holes in the top of the dough so that steam may release.
Place the calzones in the oven for 12 - 15 minutes (depending on oven), then remove from oven and top with any remaining cheese. (I used cheddar cheese for variety).
Return to the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes; keep an eye out for the dough to turn a nice golden brown color. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes then slice in half.

Note: I used Whole Foods pizza dough. For me it just always tastes fresh, and it truly makes a perfect crust. The next time I make this I will try and use a whole wheat pizza dough for the texture, and a bit more thousand island dressing inside. I do think the swiss cheese tasted best. I might even add dill pickles to the inside this next time for that extra bite of twang.

strawberry-pecan crumble bars

I love any kind of dessert or sweet treat with strawberries in it. When strawberries are in season I make special trips to Whole Foods just to buy their organic strawberries. The Whole Foods I go to (in Hingham, MA) has from the end of May, to end of June these giant, organic sweet strawberries from Driscoll. In my opinion they are the sweetest strawberries ever; known for having the very best color, taste, and texture. Driscoll farmers have one of the best reputations for producing the very best crop of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc.. Look for the Driscoll name next time you grocery shop, I bet you'll notice a difference in taste; sweeter, juicier and by far way more appealing.
So, when I'm at Whole Foods I always buy three container of strawberries, two to take home, and one to eat on the way home. With one of the batches of strawberries I made this delicious little dessert treat. These bars taste really, really good with vanilla ice cream on top.




strawberry-pecan crumble bars
recipe from vanillasugarblog.com
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2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 + cup pecans, toasted & finely chopped (I used 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup butter, room temp
1 large egg
3/4 cup strawberry puree (see below)

strawberry puree:
1 large container (bigger than a pint) of fresh strawberries, chopped into ½ inch pieces
2 TB lemon juice
1 TB cornstarch
1/8 ts cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

For the puree, in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat cook strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Stir frequently until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Let it cool for an hour or longer; it will thicken over time.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt and pecans, then stir in the butter and egg until mixture is crumbly, like coarse and wet sand.
Put a half the layer of the crumb mixture on the bottom of pan, make sure to press it in good and get all the corners. Recipe by dawn finicane of vanillakitchen.blogspot.com Then add the strawberry filling, and then put remaining mixture on top; placing it as chunks or lumps.
Put the mixture on loosely, and evenly, No need to press down on this, we want it thick and airy like a crumb cake topping.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool bars in the pan before slicing. The jam filling is hot, please let it cool.
Makes 12 bars.

Levain Bakery CC Cookie Clone

I've always wanted to make giant chocolate chip cookies, but I didn't want large and flat, I wanted big and thick.
Mainly because I'm so inspired by the world famous chocolate chip cookies sold at Levain Bakery in NYC.
Have you heard of them?  Been there?
The owners of Levain did a Throwdown with Bobby Flay.  I loved that one and I watched it with an eagle eye when they were in their kitchen, trying to spot secret ingredients--no such luck!
One of the best cookies I've ever had.

How to describe how good they are?
Crisp crust, almost-chewy inside, light in texture but dense (like a light shortbread with a hint of cakeness), very dense in flavor.
No one knows their recipe, it's a best kept secret, but there are some really good clones out there that come very very close to it.
After some research I found a recipe at Cookie Madness.
Someone said, along the way that Levain Bakery does not put the vanilla extract in, I seriously want to try that next time to see what it tastes like, and maybe a hint more salt.
One thing that I noticed, is they (the bakery) have confection ovens, so I know that makes a huge difference in making a really good crisp crust around the cookie.






levain bakery chocolate chip cookie clone
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2 sticks unsalted butter, cold (been rumored Levain uses European butter)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 ts pure vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour (13 ½ oz)
3/4 ts salt (I used sea salt)
1 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
12 ounces (2 cups) good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1 cup nuts (pecans or walnuts)

In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars just until creamy. Don’t overbeat. Add the egg and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. (I don't have a mixer so I did this by hand).
Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. When thoroughly mixed, add to batter and stir just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
The dough needs to be chilled, so you can divide cookie balls out now and chill or cover bowl and chill. I made the cookie balls, set them on the baking sheet, and put sheet in fridge for about an hour.
Divide dough into 12 big 4 oz lumps. Bake on ungreased cookies sheets (one sheet at a time). (I chilled my dough balls BEFORE baking)

Bake times (I chose the latter):
Put the cookies in a 375 degree oven and set timer for 8 minutes. When timer rings, without opening oven or removing cookies, reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until cookies appear set.
Otherwise, you can bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until done.
(Mine did 24 minutes, but I have a convection oven)
Makes 12 (mine made 14)